Let's do this!

Hello Educational Blogging World!

I'm very excited to start this new blogging journey.  I am a preschool special education teacher with a speech pathology background.  I currently teach a diagnostic preschool class for students with a variety of disabilities.  However, most of my background is in Autism.

Recently, I decided to try my hand at blogging for a few reasons.  My first reason was to reach out to other educators, specifically speech therapists and special day class teachers, to gain new ideas and network.  This job can be very isolating and it can be hard to reach out to other teachers during the work day.  My second reason was to share information that I had found useful in running a classroom.  I have heard that the average special day class teacher lasts only 7 years before switching fields or environments.  I have no idea if that is true, but from my experience it is one of the toughest jobs out there.  Not only does one have the stress of paperwork and lesson planning for a variety of instructional levels, but one also has to deal with intense classroom behaviors and team building amongst instructional assistants.  Coping with the stress of the job and maintaining your cool is a must.  I'd love to share any information or techniques that I have found useful in the classroom.  Finally, presenting my successes and frustrations with other educators helps me reflect on my practice and grow as a professional.  Self reflection is a must for any field, especially education.

I can't wait to see what this blog grows to become. Let's do this!